Brave
by niallbranson
Summary: Captain Jones has one mission from his king: to bring back a sleepy runaway princess. Military!Killian & Aurora. AU (obviously)
1. Introduction

This is something I began to write on tumblr when someone in the tag suggested a Military Killian/Aurora story and later I decided to continue it. This is the introduction. Not my best as I wrote it in the space of 10 minutes to fill a request but the story really starts in the next part. Obviously, I own nothing. Every OUAT related character or setting belongs to Adam Harowitz & Ed Kitsis. The "classic" characters belong to their respective authors. All of that. I just get to have fun with them...

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_King Richard couldn't believe it. She'd done it; actually done it. She had threatened him to leave if he insisted on marrying her to prince Philip and today, when he walked into the dining room for breakfast, she was gone. Her lady's maid had confessed to Aurora requesting to wear her most expensive jewels to dinner the night before and conveniently forgetting to give them back. She would sell them no doubt, and Richard paced the floor of his study in anguish; Aurora was a small, delicate creature. She would not survive out in the world alone. _

_Richard dreaded the moment the news reached the ears of Prince Philip and his father, King George. Aurora had been betrothed to Philip from birth, and Richard had long since collected the rewards of the alliance between the two kingdoms. If Aurora was not found in time and forced to make good on her engagement to Philip, there would be retributions. No; there would be war. _

_A sharp knock at the door distracted him from his thoughts and he called out for whoever had interrupted to enter. _

_"You asked to see me, your majesty?" _

_Sir Lancelot, his best knight bowed his head towards the king._

_"Yes. What information have you found on Princess Aurora?"_

_"I asked around in the village. No one saw anything; she ran in the middle of the night."_

_"No one in this entire village saw anything?" The king barked in disbelief. _

_"There was one man, a fisherman, he said a young woman paid him five pieces of gold to take her across the water to the main port. I can only assume Princess Aurora could be the only one have access to that kind of wealth."_

_The king nodded and ran his hand through his already thinning hair. _

_"Have you sent men to the ports, then?"_

_Lancelot looked away from his majesty, not sure how tell him the news. "I have. There's no sign of her. It is my belief, your majesty, that she managed to get aboard one of the ships leaving the docks at dawn…she could be anywhere by now. And if pirates have her…"_

_King Richard did not allow his knight to finish his thoughts, distress taking over._

_"No. We must get her back. She only fled last night; she can't possibly that far. Lancelot, I need a sailor; the best. Someone that will not fail in finding Aurora."_

_The knight nodded as the perfect man for the job came to his mind._

_"I know exactly who to call, your majesty."_

_"Who's that?"_

_"Navy officer Killian Jones."_


	2. Chapter 1: Runner

Princess Aurora was never one for fighting. She didn't fight Maleficent when she had tried to kill her. Sure, she'd only been a girl of ten back then, but she had not resisted when the witch grabbed her arm and forced her hand towards the needle of that spinning wheel. Instead, her eyes widened and her breathing quickened to the point of light-headedness but she could not bring herself to so much as speak a protest, much less move. Had her mother not come in, blue fairy in tow, she might have suffered the same fate the queen had all those years ago.

Her mother was long gone now and the legend of sleeping beauty was only that, it seemed: a legend. People spoke of her mother's courage and kindness and sometimes Aurora wondered if she actually remembered her for herself, or if she merely kept a fictitious image of her based on the stories everyone around the kingdom told.

Still, whether it be stories or memories, the one thing her mother had been was a fighter. A brave woman who gave her life for her people and her family and was never afraid. She wasn't afraid to face Maleficent, she wasn't afraid to rule a kingdom or lead an army.

And here Aurora was, running like a thief in the night because she was afraid. Afraid of marriage, of all things. Afraid of a life of misery next to a man she could never love. Shame coursed through her, beating out whatever warmth she had managed to find under her cape in that small, damp corner of the ship she was on. How selfish she was being, she thought, tears pricking the backs of her eyes. She was selfish for running; for thinking only of herself and her misery and not of her kingdom, of her father, or especially of Philip.

She could never go back. She knew that her running would bring much more than shame to her family. No; it would start a war. So many deals had been struck, so many treaties signed and the peace kept on the sole condition that Aurora and Philip would unite their kingdoms and their families in the future.

She pressed herself back against the hard wooden wall behind her and half sobbed. She could only hope that Philip would forgive her; hope that he would forget her and have mercy on her father and her people. She knew him very little; aside from a few chaperoned dinners and dances or walks around her gardens. She did, however, know that he did not love her. Perhaps he loved someone else entirely; perhaps he didn't; but he certainly did not love her.

She had made up her mind to run almost a fortnight before, when Philip had attended a dinner in her kingdom and in what was perhaps an attempt to put her at ease, her then-future husband had told her she would find much to do in his castle. That there were many rooms and gardens and lands for her to explore to keep her busy for years.

He'd smiled warmly at her, the only thing that made her thing that Philip was certainly not a _bad _man, but it was then that she realized she could never live a life with him.

She had her own land, her own gardens, towers and dungeons full of rooms and mysteries and if she were left to her own devices in her home, she would never be bored. The one thing she didn't have in her castle though, was love. True love like her mother had had for her father. True love like the stories she read in her books. It wasn't there. It wasn't in her castle and it would most certainly not be at Philip's.

She was never one to crave adventure or travel; but she craved a love-less life even less. So she ran. For two weeks, she collected money, her most expensive jewels and clothes and hid them from her lady maid in preparation for her journey. She would run, she would never look back even if it meant leaving her wife-less father now without a daughter and her future kingdom without its queen.

She would have been a terrible leader anyway, she tried to reason. Philip was better off taking another woman as his wife and queen. She could have never led a kingdom, could have never fought with the strength and courage a queen was meant to have. She snorted at the thought that hit her suddenly. She was no different than the pirates she had bribed to take her across the sea. She was not a fighter; she was a runner.

* * *

_'The most beautiful creature in this land.' they had told him. As he gazed upon the young princess's lovely face he was tempted to say she was the most beautiful creature in _all _of the lands. _

_"Try not to stare too much, dear brother." Liam told him with a sly grin as he came to stand next to him. All around them young ladies danced and laughed but she merely sat and observed, numbly resting her hand on that of her betrothed and even from so far away, Killian could not see a trace of happiness on the bride-to-be's face. _

_"Is it an arranged marriage?" He asked Liam. He'd only joined his majesty's navy months ago and had yet to even be formally introduced to the gorgeous princess. Not that he had a reason to be, of course. He was only a sailor. A servant with the title of "captain". He had no reason make acquaintance with the future queen._

_"Of course it is." His brother responded. "What marriage isn't?" _

_Killian shrugged but kept his eyes on the princess. He could never imagine taking a wife that did not love him or even want him. There was absolutely no dignity in keeping a woman at his side against her will. Of course, he had the advantage of being of little importance in society and even less money and so when he did marry, he could be sure it would be for love. _

_"Someone should ask her to dance." He said almost to himself as he watched her eyes follow the twirling figures of the girls in the center of the room. Liam placed an arm around his shoulders and began to drag him away in the opposite direction._

_"Someone yes, but certainly not you. Not if you value your job." _

_Killian looked confused for only a second as his older brother began to chuckle. "Such a dreamer you are, little brother. The princess, however beautiful, shall only ever be just that to you: a dream." _

"Do you think we'll find her, captain?" Williams, on of his sailors, asked. Killian broke out of his memories of the night he'd first laid eyes on Aurora -so many months ago- and vaguely nodded towards him.

"We will." He said, trying to convince his crew. Few men had signed up for this mission, fearing the king's wrath if they returned empty handed; but Killian was convinced he'd find her. Few knew this land's seas better than him and the one who had, Liam, was now dead. Liam, with his good form and duty to his king would have not hesitated to search the ends of the earth to bring Princess Aurora back to her father and her betrothed. Killian, however, could not shake the image of the young woman from that night. The one who looked trapped and sad and lonely and for a moment he wondered if he'd ever have the heart to bring her back to her misery.


End file.
